Country Life International
Food, glorious food Three grand gourmands reveal their ideal place to live abroad to Eleanor Doughty
Adam Handling, chef
I
F I could live anywhere in the world, it would be Bangkok in Thailand. I love the food there and the culture—[people] sit on little plastic stools in the streets eating the most wonderful, affordable food that is fresher than anything you’ll ever get in this country. I first went to Bangkok about 10 years ago—my best friend lives there and he would show me the places the tourists don’t go to, where you get to taste some really incredible things. Thai food over here very much caters for the UK market and it has to travel halfway around the world. Over there, they’re eating what they’re picking out of the ground. That is the great thing about it—the fish comes
out of the sea, then you’re eating it. Some of the meat markets are pretty grim—they do the butchery right in front of you and you think: ‘Do I really want to eat that?’ But then you decide: ‘Yeah, OK.’ The Thai work ethos is incredible—they work so hard. You see elderly ladies on the street making the same thing that they’ve made for years and they make it better than anyone—they’ve mastered their field. Asia as a whole knows how hospitality should be done, it’s so elegant. Even the Chinatown in Bangkok is more advanced than the one in London. It’s huge and the food is phenomenal. One time, I was taken for a yellow curry, which is one of my favourite things, and we
34 | Country Life | June 22, 2022
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